How the government asks
What is an RFQ in government contracting?
Request for Quotation
An RFQ asks vendors what they would charge, and a quotation in response is not an offer the government can accept to form a contract — the government's purchase order is the offer.
Also written as: request for quote, RFQ meaning, quote vs bid.
The FAR is explicit about this and almost nobody outside contracting knows it: under FAR 13.004, a quotation is not an offer, and it cannot be accepted by the government to form a binding contract. What happens instead is that the government issues a purchase order in response to the quotation, and that order is the offer — which the vendor accepts by furnishing the supplies or services, or by returning the acknowledgement copy.
RFQs are the everyday instrument of simplified acquisition, the streamlined procedures in FAR Part 13 used for smaller buys. They are lighter than an RFP in every respect: shorter response times, less prescribed format, often a single-page requirement description and a request for a price.
That informality cuts both ways. It is the easiest kind of federal work to win as a newcomer, and it is also where a vendor most often discovers that the quoted price omitted a delivery term, a wage obligation or a warranty the order then imposed.
What this means when you bid
An RFQ is the fastest realistic route to a first federal contract. Quote it carefully anyway — the resulting purchase order will carry terms your quote did not mention.
RFQ compared with the terms it gets confused with
RFQ vs RFP
A proposal in response to an RFP is an offer; a quotation in response to an RFQ is not. The direction of the offer is reversed.
What RFPmeans →RFQ vs Simplified acquisition threshold
RFQs live mostly below the simplified acquisition threshold, which is the ceiling on the streamlined procedures that make them quick.
What Simplified acquisition thresholdmeans →Where this definition comes from
Federal contracting is one of the few fields where the authoritative answer is free, public and one click away. These are the sources this page is built from — go and read them.
- FAR 13.004→
Legal effect of quotations.
- FAR 13.307→
Forms used in simplified acquisition.
- FAR Part 13→
Simplified acquisition procedures.
This page explains a term in plain English and cites the authority it comes from. It is not legal advice, and the regulation governs where this page and the regulation differ.
Free tools for government contractors
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RFQ— common questions
- What is an RFQ in government contracting?
- An RFQ asks vendors what they would charge, and a quotation in response is not an offer the government can accept to form a contract — the government's purchase order is the offer.
- What is the difference between RFQ and RFP?
- A proposal in response to an RFP is an offer; a quotation in response to an RFQ is not. The direction of the offer is reversed.
- What is the difference between RFQ and Simplified acquisition threshold?
- RFQs live mostly below the simplified acquisition threshold, which is the ceiling on the streamlined procedures that make them quick.
- Why does an RFQ matter when you are bidding?
- An RFQ is the fastest realistic route to a first federal contract. Quote it carefully anyway — the resulting purchase order will carry terms your quote did not mention.
Related terms
- RFP — Request for Proposal
- Simplified acquisition threshold — Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)
- Micro-purchase threshold
- BPA — Blanket Purchase Agreement